Fall 2014 Seattle Housing Market Updates

Summer is still in full force, with 80-degree weather, not a cloud in sight, and plenty of time left for barbecues and vacations. However, fall is nearly here, and the Mortgage Bankers Association and other housing market analysts are updating their forecasts based on current trends. In recent news, the fall 2014 Seattle housing market and national market are slowing down as home prices rise and incomes stay stagnant.

On the national scale, the housing recovery in the U.S. seems to be wavering – forecasts for new and existing home sales this year were lowered in late June. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) estimated a decline of 4.1 percent – the first annual drop since 2010. Early in the year, the MBA forecasted higher numbers, but these estimates were hit with rising home prices and stagnant incomes. Last month, 4.9 percent of Americans said they planned to buy a home in the next 6 months, which is a significant decrease from 7.4 percent at the end of last year.

“The pool of eligible new buyers is collapsing” because of stagnant incomes and lack of credit, said Richard Hastings, a Global Hunter Securities LLC consumer strategist.

In the local Seattle housing market, we have experienced home price increases, but none so extreme to warrant concerns. According to a report from Seattle Bubble, a source for local real estates news and statistics, the Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows home price growth ‘cooling’ in recent months. “Seattle’s position for month-over-month changes fell from #2 in April to #5 in May. Tampa, San Francisco, Chicago, and Charlotte all saw home prices rise more between April and May than they did in Seattle,” the report states.

Despite the back-and-forth we’ve seen in the Seattle housing market (albeit more predictable than the national averages), Kendall Homes’ communities are available with affordable, brand new homes. Our Lakeridge Heights and Dylan Heights neighborhoods are move-in-ready for house-hunters who are looking to move to Renton or Fife. Contact us to schedule a private viewing!